Process for the destructive distillation of solid carbonaceous materials



May a; 1927. 1,627,321

P. DVORKOVITZ v PROCESS'FOR THE 'DESTRUCTIVE 'DISTILLATION OF SOLID CARBONACEOUS MATERIALS Filed Oct. 16, 1922 @401 DVORKOM/ 72 A 6/6 Arm/ways Patented. May 1927, i I

' UNITED, sT

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Application filed October 16, 192$, Serial lite; 504,885, and in Great Britain November 17,1921.

This invention relates totlie known proc-f ess of treating coal or other solid-carbonaceous matter, for obtainin liq'ui d distillateproducts therefrom --in -w ich process the said coal, or other carbonaeeo'us-matten'is heated ina closed retort by contact with hot gas and afterwards-the vapors obtained ape condensed, the operation being conducted 1I1 apparatus comprising means for heatinmthe gas to be.-" supplied to the' interior of the retort and a condenser in which the volatile products passed fromthe retort "are condensed,and obtained in the liquid form.

It is known that,"intreating :petroleum' residues by means of superheated-steam, the temperature ofthe steam plays a very 1m-- portant part in the products obtained. If the-temperature of the steam be higher than is required for 'ya'porizing the heavy OllS decomposition takesflp'lace' and the quality of the products is. deteriorated, while if the steam be of 'a lower temperature than is redo not evaporate and are left in the residue. Thus the regulation of thetemperature of the' steam is of great importance. :The' same applies to thetreatment of coal, or other carbonaceous "matter-,Qfor the purpose of extracting oils ofthe parafiin series, by means of heated hydrogen, water gas, and the like.

It has been proposed to extract-volatile matter such as benzole, to'luol, and: other hydrocarbons of the aromatic series from coal by assing hot'purified gas brought to a contro led tem erature of between 600 and 1000 degrees Fa renheit. (approximately between 316 and 538 degreescentigrade or to a higher temperature, into intfmate contact with every particle of the coal contained in a closed retort; in this process it is proposed to heat the gas to t e required temperature in a furnace, separate-from the retort, and to admit the gas alternately atthe bottom and at the top. of the retort containing'the charge. r

My invention has for its especial object to. treat thecoal, or other carbonaceous matter, in an improved way so that oils of the carbons of the aromatic series, areobtained therefrom in an efiicient and economical manner. Accordingto my invention the heated gases are admitted only to the upper end of the retorts from a heater which is separate from the retortgt the said gases being for instance, hydrogen, "water gas,-producer ga's, or ordinary coal gas, the tem er-' series the heat required for this purpose being not v higher than I about 500 degrees centigrade. I have found that the tem eratu-re of the charges in the retorts shoul not exceed about 500 degrees centrigrade the lower temperaturebeing of course only such as will distill 011' such amount of the oils of the paraffin series as will'make the process sufiiciently profitable, A

Various qualities of coal, or other carbonaceous matter, require different temperatures toeirtract the OllS of the parafiin series therefrom; for example, lignite 'coal requires lower temperature than does. gas coal or steam coal, to produce the best results. I The regulation-of the temperature of the gas admitted to the retorts, containing'the coal, or other carbonaceous matter, is, therefore of great importance, and the'temperature is very conveniently obtained by providing a heater separate from the retorts,

in which heater the gas can be heated to the Although I do not limit my-i'nvention to the treatment of coal, I will, for brevity of description, presume that the carbonaceous matter to be'treated is coal.

In carrying out my invention I subject I ,the coal, while it 'is in a-closed vertical, or

inclined, retort, or'vessel, to the aforesaid temperature not exceeding about 500 de -g'rees centigrade which will vaporize, or

separate, only,..or mainly, the oils of' the araflin series-from the said coal. The heatvmg agent, such for example as hydrogen or water gas, or producer gas, or ordinary coalgas, is heatedin'the heater to a temperature l to maintain in the retorts the requisite temparafiin series, as distlnguished from hydro-.-

pcrature', as aforesaid, for treating the charges, ,the said heating agent being adseries having a, comparatively low specific gravity) which will pass downward towards the outlet and, in their descent. the said constituents will dissolve and carry out with them, from the remainder, or lower parts, of the charge. the heavy oils of the paraffin se rice and such products will pass out. by the out-let at bottom leaving in the retort, or

vessel, the denscr eonstituents and carbon which can be treated in the same retort, or vessel, or be removed and treated in another retort, or vessel, in any known, or suitable .way, for the obtainment of products therefrom.

I may, for example, carryout my process as described and then, after I have obtained the products desired, I may treat the matter remaining in the retorts at" a higher temperature in accordance with the" products which it maybe desired to obtain therefrom; i

The retort, or vessel, employed for .the purposes of my invention, may be made of any ordinary, or suitable, material such, for

instance, as cast-iron and be provided with any usual, or suitable-adjuncts. The outlet for the products obtained is' preferably somewhat inclined upwards from the-side ofthe lower end of the interior of the retort,

or vessel, to prevent the 'saidoutlet from being clogged 'y solid matter from the retort, 'or vessel. j

From the retorts the vapors pass to a series of condensers from-which the prodnets of condensation can be removed separately, as desired. I

The accompanylng drawing represents in elevation partly in section,ir 1 Figure 1, a

plant suitable for the purposes of my invention which is however not limited to the emplo ment of the particular form and details 0 the various parts illustrated.

' Figure 2 is a horizontalsection on the line maybe in any suitable number and arcg T 02-m Figure 1. Y

The retorts into which the (30211,(0 be treated is charged are marked A*.' They shown as being of' greatest cross-sectional area at top narrowing down gradually to the lower end. To enable the heat to penetrate the charges in the rctorts they are preferably of small crosssectioiial area, hav- Ling one horizontal dimension considerably- :--*shorter' than the other, and to enable the charge to ICCQHO' a comparatively large charge without interfering with the due penetration of the heat, I" prefer to make 1 them of elliptical, or e trivalent, formation s shownin. Figure 2. he said retorts are *provided with charging hoppers a with (in,

plex valves (L2 at of the usual, or any suitable, kind which will permit of charging a communication with the outer air.

without putting the insides of the retorts in T he retorts are set in the retort chamber ll, which communicates at top with the furnace C, by the passage b, controlled by a damper b, the lower part of the chamber B communieating at b" with an uprising tube, or chimney, D. The pipe E, pr ovi'ded with a valve at 0, leads from a source-of supply of gas to be admitted to. and internally heat,

and owing to the currents of gases'and vapours inside the 'retorts being-constantly in a downward direction the said constituents (such as paraflin oil, and gas will,-as

soon asthey are formed, pass rapi ly down-.

wards without danger of theirbecoming carbonized and will pass out from the torts by't-he nvardluinclined outlet pas sages a, into a pipe a, leadin to condenser pipes F, F, which; dip into 0 osed tanks G p which receive' the liquefied con'stitut'ents I whilst any gas, or vapours, will pass off by the pipe F, the liquid constitutents from the tank G, 'bein drawn off therefrom separately if so des red, or being run therefrom through outlet pipes g, and away by the pipe 9 common to all, or any number of them. 7

' The retorts can be emptied from solid matter, such 'as coke by removing the bot tom covers and raking out at intervals or.

in any other suitable way.

' \Vhat I claim is: 4

1. A process forrecovering light oils of tho Tparaflin series from solid carbonaceous material, which comprises heating an elongated upright carbonaceous mass of relatlvely small cross sectional area on the one hand by exteuialgases which are hottest at the uppcr-end and pass downward around thc mass and on the other hand by downwardly drafted internal carrier gas at elevated temperature, the heating of the mass being so regulated as to drive off therefrom sul'istantially onlythe desired oils of the paraffin series, and leading off from the bottom of the mass to a condenser the carrier gas and the entrained vapor of the paraflin oil.

2. The process for destructively distilling solid carbonaceous material in a. closed vertical retort and recovering oils of the paraflin series therefrom, consisting in heating said material both by the combustion gases of a furnace and by heated carrier gas, and subltl sequently cooling the resulting vapors: the

combustlon gases passing downward around the outside of the retort, the heated carrier gas passing downward through the carbonaeous substance inside the retort. and the temperature being maintained below that at which the heavier constitutents of the mass volatilize.

3. The process for destructively distilling solid carbonaceous materiali-n a closed vertical retort and recovering oils of the pzaratfin series therefrom. consisting in heating said material both by the combustion gases of a furnace and by heated carrier gas, and subsequently cooling the resulting vapors: the combustion gases passing downward around the outside ot the retort, the (HfllGl gas passing downward through the carbonaceous substance inside the retort,'the products of distillation being withdrawn from the retort in an upward direction and the ten'iperature being maintained below that at which the heavier constitutents of the mass volatilize.

In testimonvi whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

PAUL DVOBKOV 1T Z. 

